Two people were killed in a shooting outside an LGBT venue in Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital.
The attack on Wednesday evening near the Teplaren bar, close to the city center, injured a third person.
According to police, the suspected gunman was discovered dead on Thursday morning.
His motivation has not yet been revealed. Local media, however, reported that he had written social media posts indicating that he held anti-LGBT and anti-Jewish views.
The young man was also identified as the son of a former candidate for a far-right political party in Slovak media.
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On Thursday, Prime Minister Eduard Heger condemned the attack, saying any form of extremism was unacceptable. Meanwhile, President Zuzana Caputova called on the country’s politicians to stop spreading hate.
The apparent hate crime sparked renewed calls for an end to homophobia in Slovakia, a relatively conservative EU country where same-sex marriage is not permitted.
The shooting, which shortly after 19:00 local time (18:00 BST) on Wednesday, sparked a police manhunt.
Officers reassured the public on Thursday morning that there was no risk of a follow-up shootings from the same perpetrator, having discovered the body of their main suspect.
Slovakia’s LGBT organisations expressed their shock at the rare gun attack.
“The pain is unbearable,” read a short social media post from the venue itself.
The third victim is believed to be an employee of the bar, who is recovering in hospital.
